PLEASE
NOTE:The
Yakuza
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.

One
job of films, especially genre films, are to take us to another
world. In their own ways, each of the following does it best to do
just that.

Scott
Derrickson's Doctor
Strange (2016) is the
latest triumph form the Marvel studios, taking their great classic
superhero characters and making them into remarkably palpable feature
films. In yet another brilliant move, Benedict Cumberbatch is
perfect casting as legendary medical surgeon Dr. Steven Strange, a
man who has it all, works hard and is a pretty good guy if one that
is isolated in odd ways. One night when racing to keep an date in
his Lamborghini, he has a hideous accident that destroys his hands
and ends his career, yet he does not want to accept that and takes
his horrific circumstances as a call to find a new way and new
answers.

His
search leads him to discovering another dimension and searching for a
hard to find figure known as The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton in more
killer casting, in some of the best work of her career) who
eventually will have to help Strange find his soul before he can
continue with any kind of life again. Too bad she and the world are
being challenged by a new threat headed by a deadly opponent
Kaecilius (the great Mads Mikkelsen, proving once again to be a
formidable villain as much as a good guy or fine comic actor) so the
conflict happens to arrive at the same time Strange's crisis.

There
is so much that could have gone wrong here, but the big money is on
the screen with a perfect cast, excellent pacing, great fight scenes
and the otherworld of the Strange comics realized in a way that would
have been almost inconceivable when those comic books first arrived
decades ago. Again, the gang at Marvel Studios and their love of the
world of the publisher as well as their understanding of it. The
film has the guts to get as abstract as the comic book in the end,
which may have thrown off some viewers, but not the fans who love him
and know better.

The
result is another surprise blockbuster for Marvel like the first Iron
Man showing the advanced way they have their act together more than
just about any other commercial filmmakers working today. This is
out at its best in Disney's Blu-ray 3D with 2D Blu-ray and DVD that
will let you see the film about every way you can at home or on the
run to date (save 4K, which we expect will be later), which is what
an instant genre classic like this deserves.

One
last thing. The makers were critical of Swinton taking on the role
that had been that of an Asian man in the comics, but by 2017, two
versions of the Karate Kid franchise (from a DC comic by the
way) and its many imitators (Gremlins, Remo Williams,
etc.), that kind of casting had become a bad 1980s cliche. Marvel
was right to rethink it as they have with the ethnicity of some other
characters (Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury the best previous
excellent example) so it is a story and movie of now and tomorrow,
not yesterday. It may be one step backwards not to have an Asian
male in the role, but is two steps forward for women and due to
Swinton's great non-typicalness, a move that I believe will be
vindicated in the long run.

There
is Digital Copy included with this set, while we also get many
Blu-ray bonus extras including A Strange Transformation which
deals with how to bring Dr. Steven Strange to life, Strange
Company gives the director & cast insight on working on this
kind of film, The Fabric of Reality covers the extensive set
design, Across Time and Space shows us the unusual fight
choreography, The Score-cerer Supreme features composer
Michael Giacchino and full orchestra during live recording sessions
delivering the solid music score, Marvel Studios Phase 3 Exclusive
Look, Team Thor: Part 2 shows more of the hilarious partnership
between Thor and his roommate Darryl in this satirical short, a
feature-length audio commentary track with Scott Derrickson, Deleted
Scenes and a Gag Reel.

Panther
Girl Of The Kongo (1954)
is among the last of the Saturday Morning Chapter Play Serials that
were produced before TV killed them. Starting in the silent era, the
forum found its calling in the 1930s (pre-WWII) as sound arrived and
three small studios make them: Columbia, Universal (neither majors at
the time) and Republic Pictures (which merged out of two other
companies who helped start them), but Republic's were considered the
best for stunts, fist-fights and sometimes pacing. Phyllis Coates is
the title character (she eventually dawns a panther head to connect
with 'natives' as like most serials and films of the times,
jungle-based tales came with their stereotypes (that you would never
see today) and cliches (which we still suffer through) all over the
place) who is sold as and should be the heroine, but lands up passing
out and screaming often.

Thus,
Larry (Myron Healey) is really the lead as a mad scientist is growing
oversized animals and a duo of goofs want to rob the area of its
valuables among other conflicts in this 12-chapter, 168 minutes romp.
It has some amusing moments and the actors are a hoot, not acting
well, but look at the material. This does not have the snap or
energy of the best serials, as the form was played out by then, but
it is one of the last hurrahs and is worth a look. Just expect some
downtime, especially as the otherworld jungle we are taken to is
obviously the Republic backlot, save archive footage they dug up
wherever they could.

Olive
has been able to issue it all on one single Blu-ray and that's very
convenient (versus several film reels, videotapes of even old 12-inch
LaserDiscs) for fans and especially casual viewers who might pass
seeing it might be overwhelming to take on os much material. The
three Flash Gordon
serials from Universal remain the most commercially successful serial
releases in home video history, but there are so many more and even
obscure ones like Panther
deserve Blu-ray releases so we can all enjoy them as much as
intended. Cheers to Olive. I hope other home video companies
follow.

There
are no extras, though anything extra would have been interesting in
this case.

Sidney
Pollack's The Yakuza
(1974) started out as a martial arts action script by no less than
the great Paul Schrader and his brother Leonard, but when Pollack got
involved, he called in no less than Chinatown
writer Robert Towne, so we get more of a drama amongst the characters
and story situation. Robert Mitchum is a man with a past and
one-time detective who goes back to Japan to see an old lover (Kishi
Keiko) when he has to deal with the Japanese Mafia (specifically with
the name of the film's title) with old and new trouble coming out of
nowhere.

There
is the American businessman (the underrated Brian Keith) he knows, as
well as an assistant (Richard Jordan) and a web of politicians,
gangsters, other businessmen, family ties unknown and more that add
up to a story that is also a mystery work. Add to the then-fresh and
new ideas of Japan as a closed world (pre and post-WWII) and it is a
fine film definitely worth seeing. The martial arts moments are not
bad, the film holds up enough and the Schraders returned to this
world later for the underrated Mishima:
A Life In Four Chapters
(also worth seeing), so it has authenticity throughout and is not a
joke.

Warner
Archive has issued this Blu-ray
looking particularly great often and delivering the film like nothing
since the best 35mm and 16mm film prints. Prior to this film,
Hollywood trips to Japan where a little cliched or stereotypical,
though the Bond film You
Only Live Twice
(1967, co-produced by the Toho Studios) took an authentic step closer
to that world in a naturalistic way. Yakuza
may not have done well (no one apparently wanted to see gangsters
other than Italians in the year of The
Godfather, Part 2)
in its original release, but it is a film waiting to be rediscovered.

It
later inspired Michael Cimino's underrated Year
Of The Dragon
(1985, though that was Chinese triads in New York City, the detective
able to penetrate an opaque Asian world has many common denominators)
and both foreran Philip Kaufman's Rising
Sun
and Ridley Scott's Black
Rain
more than a decade later. This, it is an important genre work and
simply a good solid film, maybe Pollack's most underrated. Ken
Takakura, James Shigeta and Herb Edelman also star.

Extras
include an archival feature length audio commentary track by Director
Sydney Pollack, plus the Promises To Keep vintage
featurette promoting the film an the Original Theatrical Trailer,
both in HD.

The
1080p 1.85 X 1 MVC-encoded 3-D - Full Resolution digital High
Definition image on Strange
has a 2.35 X 1 and at times, 1.90 X 1, aspect ratio (the IMAX
footage). It is also the best presentation here, is one of the best
3D film releases of any kind narratively by adding otherworldly
dimension to the world that mirrors the original comic books. It is
impressive and picks up where films like Alex Proyas' Dark
City
(1997) left off in worlds that dissolve and change in all kinds of
ways instantly and at all angles. This is an HD shoot with some
Super 35mm film included. I still like the 1080p 2D version and it
looks and plays fine, but the 3D opens up the film in fun ways that
make the story more involving. The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 DVD is also included, but it is
passable at best.

The
1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer on the Panther chapters can show the age of the
materials used, but this is far superior a transfer to all previous
releases of the serial and the flaws are not unlike an old TV series
on Blu-ray where some parts of the prints are better than others.
Sometimes the shots lack detail and are a close second-generation
source, but it is also a cheap production, so one only expects so
much. This looks as good as any serial we've reviewed in about 15
years and look forward to more hitting Blu-ray.

Finally
we have the 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on
Yakuza,
with two Directors of Photography, in a brand new transfer that
rarely shows the age of the materials used.

Some
shots show their time period and look just fine in their gritty 1970s
glory, but there are many shots here with such superior color, detail
and depth that they rise above their letter grade, are demo quality
and could almost be 4K 2160p presentations. I have never seen the
film looking this good, so the efforts Warner went through to fix and
save it were more than worth it and make it a whole new film on some
level.

As
for sound, the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix on Strange
is well mixed and presented, but is also a mixdown from its Dolby
Atmos 11.1/IMAX 11.1 best theatrical presentations. Sound is thought
out and mixed in superior fashion, is more than just showing off they
have the tracks, but doing very smart things with them that integrate
into the visuals nicely and increase the impact of the film. Both
Blu-rays offer this mix, while the DVD version has a much more
watered-down, lossy Dolby Digital 5.1

Panther
and Yakuza
both offer DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 mono lossless mixes, but
Panther
is going to show its age more, as well as its budget. Yakuza
has the benefit of quiet moments, more careful recording, more
professional circumstances and a more extensive music score (by Dave
Grusin) that underlines its more serious narrative. I cannot image
any of these Blu-rays sounding better than they do.

To
order The
Yakuza
Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at: